Dead Trails
by CheeZFingerSlim
Summary: Currently on Hiatus.
1. The Crazy Russian

**Author's Note:** Second zombie Fic I'm throwing out. I'd like to thank everyone who's opened this story, and I certainly hope you enjoy it.

This is actually the second, revised version of the First Chapter. I didn't like the way I wrote it originally, so I trashed it and started over. I like this version much better, I just hope it doesn't seem a little too over-the-top.

I'll probably be updating this story pretty sporadically after a while, but I'll try to keep up a healthy updating schedule for at least a little while.

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><p>"The crazy Russian guy's out there."<p>

William Prince was getting dressed for work, tugging a white t-shirt over his head. His roommate and best friend, Travis Bourne, was peering out the window of their apartment bed room, spying on their next door neighbor. Will cocked an eyebrow at him, then grabbed his black slacks and began to slip into them.

"His name's Reznov." Will said.

"Whatever. He's still crazy - and Russian." Travis shot back, still peering outside.

Will rolled his eyes. "How's he crazy?"

"Dude, he's, like, _always_ awake."

"So, being an insomniac automatically makes you crazy now?"

"It's not that he's always awake that's crazy, he's always doing... stuff, like, weird stuff, man. He just kinda weirds me out, ya know?"

"I don't see how, but okay. Have you ever even tried talking to him? He's actually a pretty nice guy."

"Bought some booze from him a couple of times when the store was closed, he's always loaded with it - no surprise there - but I try to avoid him otherwise."

"You are such an asshole."

"What? He's the one reinforcing the stereotype, not me!"

Will snorted, then began to gather his things: a backpack, his wallet, cell phone, iPod, and pocket knife. Although he hadn't been sure about what to do when he got back home to his mountain town in Oregon eight months ago, he had managed to find a job as a waiter about four months ago. After that, he moved out of his Grandparents home and into an apartment with his friend Travis, who too had returned to town within the last year after living in Wisconsin for almost four years.

Before that, for the past three and a half years, Will had been living in the desert state of Arizona with his now ex-girlfriend, Carly Barlow. Eight months ago, she had broken up with him for reasons that still weren't completely clear to him - she hadn't tried to talk to him, and any attempts to talk to her were immediately blocked or shot down. Having no reason to stay there anymore, Will quit his job there, packed up his stuff and returned to Oregon and moved back in with his Grandparents. It had dealt a serious blow to him, and although he wouldn't admit it, Will was still suffering.

"Yeah, well, stereotype or not, I'm sure Reznov has a job, something that I have, too, and have to be getting to. And so do you in a few hours, so stop worrying about him and do whatever it is you do before you go to work." Will said, throwing his black leather jacket on.

"Masturbate, then have a beer, some chips and a shower." Travis replied in a way that made it difficult to tell if he was serious or not.

"...yeah, anyways." Will made his way out the door. "Just don't fall asleep and forget to go to work like yesterday."

"You got it, _Dad_."

Travis was a mechanic and owned his own garage beside their two old friends, Shaughn Grimes and Jessica Hatch. It was a good, legitimate business, and they did surprisingly well. Hell, Travis probably made more money than Will did at this point, but that would hopefully soon change when he found a better job.

"William!" Reznov's thick Russian accent broke Will's train of thought.

"Oh, um, hey, Reznov." Will waved.

"William! How are you, my friend?"

"I'm good." Will smiled as Reznov approached. "How about you?"

"I am good, my friend, I am good. Tell me, William, do you pay much attention to your government?"

Will blinked, taken back by the sudden question. "Um, no. No, not really. I'm not really into politics..."

"Good man, William! This is why I like you, you have a good head on your shoulders."

"Thanks."

Reznov was a large man, easily six feet tall. He wasn't sure how old he was, but he had short cut, gray hair and a full beard and mustache, and bright green eyes. He was a bulky man, thick with muscle, but lean and defined. As always, he was wearing tan cargo pants, combat boots, a black t-shirt and a leather jacket.

On the other hand, Will was only 5'9" at twenty-five, and wasn't quite as muscular, or thick as Reznov was, but he was at least in shape. He had darker blue eyes, and dark brown hair which reached his ears which was usually swept back, or hidden underneath a beanie like it was now.

"William, do you have time to take a drive with me?"

"Um, actually, I have to get to work..."

"Please, William, it will only take thirty minutes at most. If you are late, I will pay you any lost money."

"I..."

"It is very important, William, please."

He stood there for a moment, chewing on his lower lip. If it was true and would only take thirty minutes, Will would still have plenty of time to get to work. Reznov didn't come off as threatening, either, so it didn't make him uncomfortable to be alone with the Russian. After giving it some serious consideration, he raised his shoulders for a moment, then dropped them. "Sure, I guess."

"Excellent! Come, come, let us go to my car."

Reznov's "car" was actually a 1990 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was a gray color and it appeared to be in good condition. Will climbed into the passenger seat and buckled his seat belt while Reznov slid into the driver's seat. Reznov pulled out into the street, then turned down the main road and cruised down toward the highway exit.

When Reznov made the turn, Will glanced over at his hand and saw that the index finger on his right hand was missing. It wasn't the first time he had noticed this unusual trait about Reznov, and although he had always been curious, he thought it a disrespectful thing to ask about. However, the silence made Will uncomfortable, and without really thinking, he finally just asked, "So, Reznov, how'd you lose your finger?"

Reznov looked over for a brief moment, then turned his attention back to the road. Chuckling, he replied, "I lost it during war."

Will glanced over. "You were in a war?"

"Correct." Reznov nodded. "I was a Sergeant when I lost my a finger, a sniper. Losing my finger ruined my career, as you can imagine, but I was promoted to a Captain soon afterwards for my actions during the war. A friend and I, Dimitri, fought enemies of the Motherland for years until his death at the hands of people we once called comrades."

"Wow. I never would have imagined..."

Again, Reznov laughed. "Do I not seem like the war hero type, William?"

"No, no." Will shook his head. "It's not that, I just... I dunno. I've never really known anybody else who's been in war."

"Good. War is a terrible thing, my friend. Unfortunately, I believe that war is falling upon us again."

"What do you mean...?"

For a moment Reznov was silent. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, then he sighed. "It is very complicated, my friend."

That made Will uncomfortable, even more so than the silence that followed. Luckily, Reznov soon pulled off onto a dirt road and he spoke up again.

"I fear that dark times are going to fall upon us soon, William. I like you, and I trust you, that is why I am bringing you to this place. You do not deserve to face these dark times without a fighting chance." Reznov said as he parked the car.

There was a large metal container out, painted to match the scenery, hidden underneath the trees. It was exactly the kind of shipping container that was seen on boats, or in construction sites. Will wasn't sure how it had gotten here, or why it was hidden, but clearly his driver did.

"What're you talking about, Reznov?"

"You will see, my friend. You will see. Come with me."

He killed the engine and stepped out of the car. Will was hesitant, but he followed. Reznov was fishing a small ring of keys out of his pocket. They walked to the front door of the container, and Will stopped. Reznov began to unlock the padlocks that held the door shut. When he was done, he stopped and turned back to face Will.

"Do you trust me, William?"

"I... yeah. Yeah, I trust you, Reznov."

"Excellent, my friend." Reznov nodded, then opened the doors and Will felt his jaw hit the dirt.

Guns. There were guns everywhere, of all different sizes and shapes. Revolvers, pistols, shotguns, rifles - it was all there. Will couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked a few times, just incase he was imagining things. Lo and behold, however, he wasn't. Even after rubbing his eyes, the guns were still there. Also inside were wooden crates, plastic cases, steel drums, plastic tubs, cardboard boxes and plenty of other containers strewn about.

"Reznov... What the hell is all of this...?" Will asked, not taking his eyes off the sight in front of him.

"Protection, my friend, and because you are my comrade, I am going to share it with you."

"Sh-share it with me? What do you mean? Where the hell did you even get all of this?"

"Internet, William. People do not ask questions about your purpose there when you buy things from them. My Father was a very wealthy man, and when he died, he left his fortune to me. I have put it to good use, preparing for the dark times that lie ahead."

"What the hell do you mean "dark times", Reznov? What're you talking about?"

Reznov turned around and reached out, placing both hands firmly on Will's shoulders. The young man froze at the contact, unable to bring himself to pull away like any sensible person would.

"Soon, my friend, you will see."

As cryptic as it was, Reznov wouldn't say any more. Instead, he turned back toward the container and peered inside. He stared at the contents for a moment, then spun around again and faced Will.

"How much do you know about guns, William?"

"Not... much. I mean, I've gone out hunting a few times, and I took the Hunter's Safety Course and stuff, but that's about all."

Reznov nodded approvingly. Then he began to close the container back up and secure the locks. "Excellent. William, when the dark times fall upon us, you will have supplies here. I will leave you the key, it will be under the second closet rock from the tree with the knife in it."

Will just stood there, unsure of what to do. Maybe Travis had been right and Reznov _was_ just a crazy, drunken Russian. For some reason, though, Will felt this wasn't the case. He followed Reznov back to the Cherokee and soon they were back on the highway, heading back toward town. The silence was a bit unnerving, but there wasn't much to be done about it. Reznov was silent, and Will didn't know what to say to spark up a conversation that didn't involve what had just happened.

A few minutes later, Reznov turned back onto the ramp and descended back into town. They pulled back into Reznov's driveway and put the car into park, then killed the engine.

"You are a good man, William. I hope that we meet again, after the dark times."

"You still haven't told me what the dark times are, Reznov..."

"Soon, my friend." Reznov said again. "Soon."

Reznov stuck out his right hand and once again, Will found himself eying the stump where his finger used to be. For a moment, he hesitated, then he slowly raised his own hand and gripped Reznov's. The Russian's grip was firm, and the shake was strong, which wasn't surprising. Afterwards, Reznov retracted his hand, then started the engine.

"I must go and prepare. Take care, William. Remember, it is the second closest stone from the tree with the knife."

Will simply nodded. Reznov gave a salute, then started the Cherokee's engine and backed out. He turned right and disappeared from sight. Meanwhile, Will stood there, a bit dumbstruck. If he had half a brain, he would immediately go the authorities and report the ludicrous amount of weaponry that Reznov had stored away out in the middle of the forest. For a moment, he considered this; it would have been really simply. All he would have to do is dial 9-11 and give them the address.

However, as Will thought about this, something in his gut told him not do it. He wasn't sure why or how, but something gnawed at him and told him to trust Reznov. It wasn't until the alarm on his cell phone went out, alerting him he had fifteen minutes until work started, that Will realized how much time had passed.

Still considering what to do, Will walked to his ride - a black and silver, 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 350R sports motorcycle which he had affectionately named Regina. She was one of few material objects that Will held dear to him. He sold his car when he got back from Arizona - he didn't see any need for it anymore - and used Regina as his only form of transportation now. Unlike most motorcyclists, Will was a very safe driver and didn't do the risky things that most cyclists did. Usually.

From his backpack, he pulled out his helmet and put it on, zipping up his biker's jacket to protect himself from the wind. It was Spring, but the air still had an icy bite when you were cruising down the road at sixty-five miles an hour without a windshield. Will hopped onto his bike, started the engine, lifted the kick stand, then was off. Against all logic, he had decided he wouldn't report Reznov and his arsenal - Reznov didn't seem like a the kind of man who would harm someone without proper provocation. However, he couldn't get what had happened out of his head, especially the cryptic, chilling words Reznov had spoken to him.

_Dark times... Just what the hell does that mean?_ Will thought as he raced along the city streets of his small mountain city.

Dark time were indeed coming - and neither Will, nor Reznov knew just how soon they truly would arrive.


	2. MILFs and Maniacs

**Author's Note:** See? I'm updating rather nicely. Let's see how long I can keep this up!

Also, if you're a Call of Duty fan and thought Reznov from the last chapter seemed a little familiar, there's a very good reason for that. He's far from the last shout out I'll have in this story.

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><p>The restaurant business was a hectic one. The lunch hour was especially bad, and it seemed to just be heating up. Will was scooping up plates for a family of three - a BLT sandwich and fries, a large salad and soup, and of course, a cheese burger. Once the plates were firmly in his grasp, he walked out and across the restaurant to their table.<p>

"Here you are." Will said in a cheery tone, placing the plates down in front of the ones who ordered them; the BLT was for the husband, the salad and soup were for the wife, and the burger was for their young boy.

"Thank you!" All three chirped.

"You're very welcome." Will replied. "Anything else I can get ya?"

The family exchanged glances, then said no. Nodding, Will began to turn away. As he did, he noticed the red headed wife wink at him, a knowing smirk on her face before she turned her attention to her meal. It seemed that Will wasn't the only one who noticed, either, because as soon as he was back in the kitchen, one of his co-workers, Caleb, had an arm around his shoulders and was patting his chest.

"Dude, I saw that shit! She totally wants your dick!" He said just loud enough for Will to hear.

He rolled his eyes, snorting, and pulled away. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Dude, no, I'm serious! When you were away, she was always looking at you, I totally saw her! Dude, she wants to slop your knob!" Caleb wooted, laughing.

Will himself nearly burst into laughter right then and there, but he kept a cool professionalism about him somehow. "Get back to work, Caleb."

"Actually, I was just about to go on break, man. Wanna come too?"

"Uh..." Will glanced over at the clock. It was 12:33 PM, which meant he'd been on the clock for almost three hours now and was due for a ten minute break. He shrugged, then nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Sweet! We can chat it up and see how to get that MILF to slop your knob."

This time Will couldn't hold back. He laughed loudly, bringing his arms up to cover his face, trying to stifle the sounds. It was no use, though, and for the next minute or so, he was doubled over, laughing while Caleb had ran off to the back of the restaurant for his break. When Will regained himself, he made sure note his break start time, then slipped out with him.

Caleb was leaning against the dumpster, cigarette between his lips. "'Bout time you joined me! What took ya?"

Will rolled his eyes, chuckling. "Fuck off."

After exhaling a cloud of smoke, Caleb grinned. "Good to see you, too!"

"Got an extra one?"

"Huh?" Caleb blinked, then reached into his pocket and fished out of his cigarette pack. "I thought ya quit."

Will shrugged. "I did."

Caleb mimicked Will's movement, then handed him a cigarette and a lighter. He took them gratefully and relished the smokey taste that rolled across his tongue when he sucked in. Caleb was right, Will had quit smoking about four months ago after his two and a half year break while he was dating Carly. She was the reason he had quit the first time because she was so sensitive to smoke.

After she left him, however, Will quickly picked the habit back up. In the end, he realized that he was smoking as a way to get back to her, which didn't really make any logical sense; it was only hurting him, and doing absolutely nothing to her. So, after chain smoking for four months, Will put down cigarettes for good. Or, at least, he tried to. He still had a cigarette here and there, especially when his thoughts drifted to Carly.

"So, man, how've ya been? We haven't really had the chance to kick it lately." Caleb asked, halfway done with his cigarette.

"I'm alright, I guess. Just gettin' by, I guess. Nothing exciting ever happens in my life." Will laughed, shrugging. "How about you?"

"I'm good, man. Actually, me'n Hailey were thinkin' of goin' out on a camping trip soon. Winter's finally over and the good weather's rollin' in, so we might try'n take advantage of it. Maybe we'll try and get some friends together, get you and Travis involved, too. I think that'd be really cool."

"Yeah, that would be great." Will said, trying not to let his hopefulness show. It had been a while since he had actually gone out with friends, he was always so wrapped up in work, or trying to write a book.

"But for now." Caleb took a drag on his cigarette, then exhaling a plume of smoke and grinned. "We gotta get you and that MILF in the bathroom or something!"

Again, Will laughed. He shook his head. "Nah, she's not my type."

"You're fuckin' crazy! Dude, she's got a huge rack, and she's smokin' hot! I'm tellin' ya man, she wants to slop your knob!"

It was that phrase that got Will to crack up. "What the hell does that even _mean_?"

The good times ended when there was a crash from the kitchen. Will and Caleb exchanged a confused glance, then flicked away the remainders of their cigarettes and hurried back inside. There was a scream, which only pushed the two men into a dash. When they came back into the main part of the restaurant, they saw a large man wrestling with the redheaded woman's husband.

"What the fuck's going on?" Caleb asked Matt, one of their co-workers.

"I don't know, man! The big guy, he just... he came in when you guys went out and he looked sick. He took a seat at one of the booths, then just slumped over. That other guy went to check on him, then the big man jumped up and just attacked him."

Everyone stared as the two men fought. The large man was making some kind of loud, grunting, growling noises and blood soaked the sleeve of his shirt. The husband was struggling, only about half the size of the large man. Before any thing could happen, Caleb rushed forward.

"Hey, man, what's your deal?" The blond asked loudly, reaching toward the large man.

The large man didn't answer. He didn't even acknowledge Caleb until he grabbed his shoulder. When that happened, the large man's head turned and his eyes fell on Caleb. Even from this distance, Will could see that his eyes were milky, glazed over.

"Hey, man, are you-"

The large man spun around and lunged forward. Caleb's feet slid apart and his arms came up defensively. "What the fuck's wrong with you!"

"Somebody call 9-11!" Somebody screamed.

Matt ran forward next to help Caleb. Matt was a tall, but very thin and lanky guy. The large man was much thicker than he was, but Matt didn't let that deter him. He grabbed a hold of one of large man's thick arms and tried to pull him away. Next, the husband ran forward and rejoined the fray, grabbing ahold of the large man's other arm.

Howling, the large man began to flail his body about, trying to break free of Matt and the husband. Caleb reached out and placed his hands on the man's shoulders.

"Push him against the wall!"

With all three of them pushing, even the muscular man couldn't resist. They slammed him in a not too gentle manner against the wall, holding his back against it.

"What the fuck is this guy's deal!"

"I don't know, he just attacked me!"

"Who cares, just hold him!"

Will stared on in astonishment. Just what the hell was going on here? He could see a couple people on their cell phones, chattering frantically with people on the other line - who he really hoped was the cops.

"Jesus Christ, what the hell is this?" Their manager, Mickey, who had just come out of the back room bellowed. "What are you doing to that man?"

"This guy's crazy, Mick!" Caleb shot back.

"He attacked me." The husband chimed in, vouching for Caleb. "These two men helped me and we're holding him here until proper authorities get here."

Although most people had taken their eyes off of the large man by now, Will had not. Matt, Caleb and the husband were looking away, over at Mickey. The large man was still grunting and snarling, trying to break free from their hold. Suddenly, his head twitched, turning to look down at Matt's arm. Opening his mouth wide, he jerked his head forward and sank his teeth right into Matt's wrist.

"Ahhhh! Shit! What the fuck!" Matt released the large man and reeled back, a small piece torn out of his wrist. "He bit me! Fuck, he fucking bit me!"

With one arm free, the large man swung it around. Caleb was forced to let go and jump back, just barely avoiding the large man's wide swing. Now with two of the people restraining him gone, the large man turned and threw his weight into the redhead's husband again.

"Howard!" The MILF screamed as they tumbled to the floor.

This time, Will ran forward. Caleb soon jumped back in as well, and together, they yanked the large man up and off of the husband - Howard - and pinned him the floor. Howard scrambled to his feet and helped them again. Will had to admit, he was one brave son of a bitch.

"You okay?" Will asked him.

"Yeah, I think so. He didn't bite me." Howard replied, panting softly.

A couple more people came to help and in all, seven people were holding down the large man in the end. This guy was really strong, and Will was really grateful to everyone who had jumped in to help. Soon, sirens could be heard down the block and pulled up to the building. Four police officers burst through the restaurant doors and took over. They flipped the man onto his stomach and somehow managed to lock his hands behind his back with a pair of handcuffs.

The man screamed and struggled, but the police held him firmly. They dragged him outside and shoved him into the back of a police cruiser, where he began to thrash around wildly in the backseat. An ambulance showed up soon afterwards and began to attend to Matt, who had pressed a couple of wash clothes against his bleeding wrist.

Then, for the next hour or two, the police spent time taking statements from anyone and everyone who hadn't fled the restaurant during the attack. Will told them exactly what had happened; he was in the back of restaurant when there was a crash and screaming, so he and Caleb had gone back inside and helped restrain the man after he had bitten one of their co-workers and attacked another customer.

By the time everything was over, it was almost four o'clock. Will still had two more hours on his work schedule, but Mickey wisely followed the police's advice and closed up shop. He told everyone that they had the next few days off, and he would call them all the day before the next time they would have to work.

Caleb and Will walked out to their vehicles. Surprisingly, the redheaded wife, her husband Howard and their Son were out in the parking lot for them. Howard thanked both of them, giving them a firm handshake and offered to treat them, and Matt when he got out of the hospital, to dinner. Will really didn't want to, but he felt it would be rude to decline so he said yes.

The wife, who they found was named Rosa, gave them both a hug. To Will, however, she also gave a small piece of paper with a phone number on it. She gave him a wink, calling them both very brave boys for saving her husband. (though, she had her eyes on Will when she said this) Then the family climbed into their Lincoln Navigator and left.

Caleb had noticed Rosa slip Will the paper and grinned. "Told ya man, she wants to slop your knob!"

Again, Will rolled his eyes and stuffed the paper into his pocket. He had to admit, Rosa was an attractive lady and if he ever did feel his libidio spike, he could always take her up on the offer.

As Will was strapping on his leather jacket, Caleb climbed into beat up old pick-up truck and started the engine. "Say Travis I said hey!"

Will waved, then Caleb backed out of his parking spot and left the parking lot. After zipping up his jacket and pulling his helmet on, Will climbed onto Regina and started her up. Soon he was zig-zagging through traffic and was home in no time.

"What a day." He said aloud as he walked through his front door.

Not feeling hungry, Will plopped down onto the couch in the living room and booted up his Xbox 360. For the next few hours, he killed time by shotgunning, sticking and assassinating people in Halo. As usual, he trash talked into his microphone, slinging around curse words, racial slurs and homophobic remarks.

All in good fun, of course, Will had absolutely no problem with anybody based solely on their skin color or sexual orientation - besides, he couldn't care less about what people over Xbox Live thought of him.

When Travis came in through the front door, he was quick to ask about the police cars that had been in front of the restaurant Will worked at.

"Oh, it was just some asshole high on drugs, or something." Will gave a half-assed explanation. "He bit Matt."

"He bit Matt? Damn, what a fuckin' weirdo."

"Drugies always are."

Travis laughed. "Hey, speaking of drugies, I know where a wicked parties goin' on tonight. You in?"

Will considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm just gonna get some rest."

"Killjoy."

"You know me."

They both laughed and Will went back to playing Halo. Travis cooked a pot of ramen and quickly gobbled it up before he left for his party, leaving Will all alone. For another hour, he ran around in pink armor in Lone Wolf matches, usually placing in the top three. After a while, though, this got boring and he turned on a movie.

It was only then that he realized how tired he was. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, a dream about Carly had killed any hopes of sleeping. Before he knew it, Will was drifting off to sleep, the days crazy events already forgotten.


	3. Martial Law

**Author's Note:** Ah, my first late chapter... Yeah, I knew this would happen. Sorry for the wait everybody, but I finally got off my ass and finished this chapter up!

I'll try to be better with the next one, but no promises. This Chapter is where things really begin to fall apart, so I hope you enjoy it~

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><p>It was close to noon when Will woke up the next morning. He vaguely wondered what the hell he was doing on the couch, then he remembered that he had been too lazy to get up and move to his bed last night. Surprisingly, Will felt really good - he hadn't gotten a good sleep for a long time. Sitting up, he rolled his neck and shoulders, joints cracking and popping.<p>

Travis wasn't back yet, he noticed almost immediately. The bastard's snoring sounded like a locomotive and he couldn't play a ninja to save his life. _Must have been one hell of a party._ Will thought as he stood up. _Either that or he found a girl who would take him home._

It was probably the latter.

After fetching himself a bowl of cereal from the kitchen, Will sat back down on the couch and sat the bowl on the small coffee table. He turned the TV on and flipped it to the cable channels. It was on some news channel; there was a reporter with tons of police in the background.

"-attacks started at about five am, Pacific Standard time. Chaos broke out when people began attacking each other in the streets and in public buildings. Nobody is quite sure how or why this has been happening, there doesn't seem to be any kind of reasoning behind it, but police are doing all they can to put a stop to it. The rioters, or anarchists as many officers are calling them, are very aggressive and seem to hold not regard for their own well being, or others. It seems that this is not an isolated case here in New York City, as similar cases have been reported to be happening in Los Angles, Washington DC, Chicago, Detroit, and even in Canada, as well as across seas in London, Beijing, Rome and Berlin."

"Probably some stupid protest internet nerds thought up." Will said with a roll of the eyes. "Idiots."

He flipped the channel, switching over to Cartoon Network. He was delighted to see Marceline floating through the air, playing her axe bass dressed in a ridiculously large sun hat and rubber gloves.

"_-just your problem.~ Well, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I shouldn't have to justify what I do.~_"

As silly as it was, Will did still have a soft spot for children's cartoons, especially ones like this. Getting comfortable, he sat back and enjoyed his chocolate cereal and the whacky adventures of Finn and Jake for the next hour. It wasn't until he heard the noise of the door being unlocked that Will switched the television off, and sprung to his feet to go rinse his bowl.

The door swung open and Will turned the faucet on and he glanced over. Travis shut the door behind him and locked it.

"Hey, dude, what's-"

"Has the news said anything?"

Will frowned. "About what?"

"Shit."

Will watched as Travis shot from the door to the couch. He snatched the remote up and turned the TV on, then began to flip through channels.

"Dude, what's wrong?"

Travis ignored him and continuing going through channels until he reached the local news station. Curious, Will walked into the living room and stood beside his room mate. He was greeted with the sight of another news report. This time, though, he recognized the background. It was his own town and there was a mix between the few police officers the town had, the highway patrol and what Will assumed was volunteers busy in the background.

"What the hell's going on...?"

"Dunno, man. I was on my way to the store to get some more booze, but the cops stopped me and told me to go home. So, here I am."

"What's the deal in town? You see anything?"

"No, not really. Just that they got the two bridges sealed off, all of downtown is off limits, I guess."

Their conversation ceased as the news woman began to speak up. "It seems that riots have broken out in the streets in the downtown area. There were several, smaller assaults earlier this morning and yesterday that were reported and all victims were taken to the hospital. Highway patrol was called in to help back-up our small police force, but a short time ago, many of the people in the downtown area began to go beserk and, from what we can gather, begun to ruthlessly attack anyone and everyone they can get their hands on. Police are advising everyone to stay away from this area to help keep police's attention on the situation here."

"It's happening here, too?"

"Wait, what?" Travis turned toward him.

"It's not just here." Will said. "Check Fox, or CBS, or any other major news channel. They said it was happening all over, even in other countries."

"You've gotta be shittin' me."

To make sure, Travis flipped it to another channel. It was the same news channel that Will had been watching earlier. It looked mostly the same, but now there was a military presence. What Will assumed was the Army, or at least the National Guard, had joined the police and was scurrying around frantically trying to help get things under control, it seemed.

The news man was talking rapidly, trying to explain the situation to the viewers. But Will wasn't paying attention anymore. He was busy snatching his cell phone up off the floor where it had been knocked last night and punching in his Step-Brother's number, who lived in California. If he was right, all of his Step-Siblings, minus the youngest, all still lived together in an apartment about fifteen minutes from their Mother.

The phone rang a few times, and Will feared his brother wouldn't pick up. Then, the line clicked.

_"Will, what's up?"_

"Logan, finally. Have you been watching the news?"

_"No, not really."_

"Well, turn it on."

_"Does this have to do with how crazy the police have been lately?"_

"Yes, yes, exactly! You need to get Nick and Dom and go to Mom's place and pick her and Jakey up, okay? And call Patrick and Kevin and tell them to go there too."

_"What? Why? What the hell's going-"_

"Logan, I don't have any time you explain. You just need to trust me, okay? I have a bad feeling about everything that's going on."

For a moment, there was silence. Then Logan sighed. _"Alright. I'll call Dom and Nick and Pat and Kevin, and have 'em go to Mom's while I go get Jacob."_

"Alright, good. You all need to stay there, okay? I'm serious, stay there and wait until I call you back. I've got a few more phone calls to make."

_"Got it. Talk to ya soon, man. Take care of yourself."_

"You too, bro. See ya."

Then they hung up. Next, Will punched in his Grandparents house number. They lived a good twenty minutes away, outside of town. His Grandmother answered.

_"Good afternoon, Will."_

"Hiya, Grammy. Listen, you and Gramps need to stay inside okay?"

_"Huh? What for, Hun?"_

"Just trust me, okay? Something really bad is happening, and it isn't safe outside. Tell Gramps to open the gun safe and get the .357 and the 12 gauge. Don't answer the door for anybody you don't know."

_"Will, what's going on? What is this all about?"_

"Gramms, I'm going to come over soon, okay? I'll explain everything when I get there."

_"Hun..."_

"Gramms, please, just listen to me, it's really important. I need to call some other people, but I'll call you when I'm on my way over, okay?"

_"O-okay, Hun."_

"Thanks, Gramms. Take care, okay? Remember, don't open the door for anybody you don't know. I love you and Gramps."

_"I love you, too, sweetheart."_

Will said his goodbyes then hit end. Before he made his next call, he turned to Travis and told him to call Shaughn and Jessica and to tell them to stay inside and be safe. Like the others, Travis had no idea what was going on, but he did as instructed. Meanwhile, Will decided to send a text to every one of his friends.

_'Crazy shit going down, turn on the news. Stay inside and be careful, don't open the door for people you don't know. Keep in contact. Take care.'_

That left one last person to contact. Quickly, he punched in Carly's number and put the phone up to his ear. His body felt tense and his heart beat raced, suddenly feeling very anxious. He had no idea if she would even talk to him after all these months, but he still had to check in on her and make sure she was okay.

The phone rang several times, and for an exasperated moment, Will felt she wasn't going to answer. After what felt like an eternity, though, the call went through.

_"Hello?"_

"Carly? Hey, um... It's Will."

_"Will... what are you calling me for?"_

"Just... just to check in on you. Are you okay? Have you been watching the news?"

_"Why would you...? No, no I haven't. Why, what is this about, Will?"_

"Just turn on the news, any news, and watch. Something weird's going on."

_"I'm not even home. I'm at the mall with Elza and... um, Monica."_ Those were her sister and best friend.

"No, no, no. Shit. Carly, listen, you shouldn't be out. You really need to check the news because some really weird shit is going down all across the country."

_"Will..."_

"Carly, please. You need to trust me, and listen to me. Please..."

She sighed. _"Will, listen, I know that- Wait. Wait, hold on."_

Will bit his lip and pressed the phone into his ear, trying to listen. There were voices in the background, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Suddenly, he heard Carly scream. There was the sound of people shouting and a struggle. Then Carly was talking into the phone hurriedly.

_"W-Will, I gotta go. Somebody just bit Ricky!"_

"Ricky? Who's Ricky? I thought you were with-"

_"Will, I have to go, I'm sorry."_

"Carly, wait! Don't-"

_Click._

Too late.

"Was that Carly?" Travis asked.

Will looked over, frowning. He gave a nod, and Travis sighed.

"Why'n the hell did you call her?"

"Just... needed to be sure she was okay."

"She broke up with you eight months ago, dude, and she wouldn't even tell you why. Hell, she didn't even do the breaking up, her sister did! She doesn't deserve your concern."

"Yeah..."

Travis sighed. "Will, come on, man. She's too far to be worrying about anyways."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Are you gonna tell me what's up? Why you told-"

A loud crack from the living room cut him off. Both men turned to the television set. On the screen, the military was firing into the crowd of rioters in the middle of the street. The reporter was devastated, talking frantically off-screen about how brutal the military was being. The cameraman kept the camera rolling, focusing on the soldiers who were firing, then zipped over to the crowd of rioters who were falling back, blood splattering.

"Oh my God, police have been called off the site, and the military are opening fire with real bullets into the crowd! I've never seen anything like this, these people-"

Suddenly the screen flickered and changed. It went dark for a brief second, then big, bright white letters appeared on a black background, accompanied by that creepy, annoyingly loud tone.

**NATIONAL ALERT**

**PRIMARY ENTRY POINT SYSTEM**

**ISSUED AN**

**EMERGENCY ACTION NOTIFICATION.**

_"Attention all citizens, attention all citizens: this is an emergency broadcast from FEMA. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with the President of the United States has declared martial law effective immediately. All states, regions and commonwealths of the Untied States are under Martial Law. This is a FEMA high-level alert. This is _not _a drill. Executive Orders 11490, 12919, 12656 and 13010 are enacted immediately. Repeat, this is not a drill._

_"Under executive order 11000, all citizens are hereby ordered to peacefully proceed to nearest detainment centers. Please turn to local television channel nine for information and direction to your local detainment center. Any and all resistance will not be tolerated._

_"All citizens will be disarmed, all weapons will be confiscated. All Second Amendments rights are hereby void until further notice. No weapons will be allowed on the streets, or near detainment centers. No cell phone or computers will be allowed on the streets, or near detainment centers. Failure to abide by these rules will lead to strict military enforcement. Please proceed in an orderly, calm fashion. Resistance, refusal and protest will not be tolerated. Force will be used on all dissenters."_

"What. The. Fuck?"

Will and Travis stared at the screen, wide-eyed as they listened to the message. It began to replay, and that's when Travis turned it off.

"Fuck this, man. I ain't goin' to a detainment camp!"

"Me neither." Will agreed. "Where are Shaughn and Jessica? They should have been here by now."

Travis dialed their numbers, but his features dropped when apparently the calls didn't go through. Lowering the phone, he confirmed Will's suspicions: "They're not answering..."

"Get your car. We're going to my Grandparent's."

They hurried out the door and out to Travis's fixed up '89 Mustang. They were only about a mile and a half from where the bridges and could hear the echoes of gunfire. Will jumped in the passenger and buckled up as Travis climbed in the driver's seat and started the car. He backed out of the driveway and sped down the street, turning down the main road and toward the highway on ramp.

Just as they turned on to it, they were met with a horrible surprise. There were military four Humvees at the end of the ramp, blocking their path and. Travis slammed on the breaks just as the soldiers there aimed their weapons directly at them.

"Lock the brakes, kill the engine and put your hands up! Do it now, or we will open fire!" A soldier screamed over a loud speaker. "You have ten seconds to comply!"

Reluctantly, Will and Travis did as they were told. The soldiers moved toward the car and roughly yanked them out, throwing them onto the ground and handcuffing them. They were dragged to a Humvee parked on the side of the road, away from the others, and shoved inside.

"What the fuck is going on?" Travis demanded, scowling.

"Shut up, or we'll shoot you." The passenger warned.

They soon found that their detainment center was the local High School, somewhere neither Travis or Will had been in several years. Guns to their backs, they marched onto the premises, where a ton of other people were being treated much the same way. Just as Will was about to have an plastic band slipped around his wrist, his phone rang. Quickly, he snatched it up and hit the talk button.

"Hello?"

_"Will! Is that you?"_

"Carly! Yeah, it's me! Carly, what's wrong?"

_"Will, oh my God, you were right! Something's wrong! People are going crazy, and the police can't handle it, the Armies here and-"_

Will yelped in pain as he was tackled to the ground. His arm was bent awkwardly and a couple of soldiers painfully ripped the cell phone out of his hand. Stupidly, he struggled against them, which only made them twist his arms more.

"No! Give that back! I need to talk to her!" He shouted.

"No cell phones!" A soldier shouted back. Then he glanced at the ones holding Will down. "Get him up and wrapped. He's getting thrown in solitary confinement for the next six hours."

Try as he might, Will was no match for the four soldiers restraining him. They forced him to hold out his arm and they slapped the plastic band on his wrist which had a strew of numbers and letters which Will couldn't even begin to fathom what they stood for. Literally, they dragged him away and toward the buildings. This High School was mostly indoors, with the few outdoors being the center of the compound, and the outsides which was surrounded by chain link fence which he had noticed had been topped with barbed wire.

Solitary confinement, it turned out, was a classroom on the far side of the compound. Will had his handcuffs removed, then was shoved into the room. He heard locks being secured and when he tried the door, it wouldn't open. The small window on the door was covered with black paper, so he couldn't see outside. His next idea was the room's windows, but they had been barred and covered with a clear tarp that effectively blocked sight outside.

For the next few minutes, he screamed and pounded on the heavy wooden door, but to no avail. Nobody replied, not even to tell him to shut up. They must have been pretty damn sure he wouldn't be able to get out if they hadn't posted guards, which Will was sure would have told him to keep it down by now.

"Well, fuck..." Will slumped to the floor, back against the door.

His mind was racing. He had no idea what the hell was going on, but he was far more concerned with what was happening to everyone else. Were his siblings and Mother okay? What about his Dad, who was off on the road because he was a trucker? Where had they taken Travis and the other detainees? What was going to happen to his Grandparents? But most of all, he thought about Carly. He wished that she hadn't called him right then and there, maybe could have gotten away with sneaking his cell phone in.

Somehow, he doubted it though. Sighing, Will looked up and took in his surroundings. Everything in the room that wasn't nailed down had been removed; chairs, tables, papers, computers, stupid technology that only schools carried. Christ, how long had it taken them to do all of this? Raising his right hand, he checked his watch.

It was ten minutes past one o'clock.

That meant he wouldn't be getting out of here until seven.

Shit.


	4. Day Four

**Author's Note:** I decided to rewrite this Chapter because I was ultimately unsatisfied with the last version. The way I have this one planned out is (personally) far more satisfying, and I hope you'll all think so too.

Again: Bucking Reg and annabethchase99, thank you so much for reviewing. If you haven't read Bucking Reg's story Midwest Madness, I highly suggest you go and read it because it is a great story and it is one of the main factors that inspired me to write this story.

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><p>There were two things that Sergeant First Class Jackson Ramirez Westbrook knew. First, the superior officer in command of this facility, Captain Joseph Rhodes, was fucking insane. Second, there was no way that the Sergeant was going to go along with that crackpot plan of his. He wasn't the only one, either.<p>

Captain Rhodes wasn't one of them; he wasn't a member of their company. No, he was some high-ranking official who had been sent here to oversee and take command of everything going on here during this crisis. His position of power gave him a bit of an ego; he had little to no respect for the soldiers here, and had locked down the facility an hour earlier than they were supposed to. Thanks to this decision, four squads and God knew how many civilians that had been out in the city had been locked out and had to take shelter elsewhere. Yesterday, they had lost contact with the last of them.

The team they had lost contact with first was the one where Jackson's younger brother was. After much pressure from the other soldiers, Rhodes had finally sent out two Recon teams to search for the lost squads. One team immediately went silent, but the other managed to find one of the missing squads along with civilians. In light of this new information, a new, larger, more well equiped team had been gearing up to go out after them. However, after contact was lost yesterday, Rhodes scrapped the plan, much to everyone else's dismay.

If all of that wasn't bad enough, Rhodes had called a meeting today. When Jackson had first entered the meeting room, which was formerly the school's staff room, he assumed it was going to be some news about how they had reestablished contact with command, whom they had been unable to reach for the past two days.

No such luck, unfortunately.

Rhodes had a plan, though. It was to abandon this facility and head fort Fort Bragg, which was all the way across the goddamn country. When Jackson had brought up what to do with the civilians they had brought here, Rhodes's answer had sickened him.

_"You are correct, Sergeant. We do not have the man power to keep them in check during our trip, so I have a solution; we are going to execute them. All of them. It would be inhumane to just leave them here, after all."_

Jackson may not have been from this particular town, but he knew that a lot of the other men in his company were. They had friends and family in this area, and probably some in the detainment rooms. How the hell could Rhodes simply give that kind of command? Everyone was unsatisfied with that response, but nobody said a thing. Except Jackson.

Immediately, the Sergeant had flown into a rage. He screamed and cursed at the Captain, calling him crazy and a slew of other things. The Captain remained calm and none too politely reminded Jackson of their ranks and whether or not he wanted to be treated as a traitor for questioning a superior officer's orders. Reluctantly, Jackson stood down; at least, out in the open.

He wasn't going to follow the crazed Captain's order. Although he had no qualms with shooting the bastard in the face, Jackson didn't want to cause a riot. Instead, he would do things more secretively.

"Lockhart."

Corporal Joshua Lockhart turned around and straightened up, saluting. "Seregant Westbrook, Sir."

"At ease, Corporal."

The man standing infront of him was Joshua Lockhart, a great soldier and comrade, and more importantly, one of Jackson's personal friends. Lockhart had been born and raised in this town, and Jackson felt like he was the one to go to for help with this situation.

When Lockhart lowered his arms and took a more relaxed stance, Jackson turned away and motioned for the Coproral to follow. "Come with me, Lockhart. We have to go somewhere private and talk."

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><p>When Will was finally released from solitary confinement, he was informed that repeat of his actions would earn him a twelve hour stay next time. Although he made no attempt to vocalize it, Will made a note to himself to never piss these guys off again. After this, the soldiers took him to the gymnasium, which is where a good portion of the detainees were being held.<p>

According to Caleb and his girlfriend, Hailey - who had been, quite literally, dragged from their apartment - everyone had been split up. According to what Caleb had heard, the library and cafeteria is where the other detainees were being kept. Will quickly realized that Travis wasn't here, and came to the conclusion that he was probably in one of the other rooms. He sure _hoped _that he was in one of the other rooms. However, he did notice someone else that was form his past.

Back then, Josh had had long hair, a thick, but short cut beard, glasses and had always been a little more fat than muscular. Today, he was dressed in military fatiuges, had shaven face and a buzzcut, and had apparently traded in his glasses for contact lenses. He was still on the wider side, but physical training had turned it into muscle.

When he had spotted Josh, Will almost called out to him on instinct. However, the handcuffs that had been holding his hands together was a reminder he should keep to himself. This was all shortly after Will had been freed from solitary confinement. He hadn't seen Josh since, but he knew he was here somewhere, probably in one of the other rooms where they were detaining people.

Besides Caleb, Hailey and Josh, Will also found Jessica Hatch, a girl two years older than him who he had had a crush on back in High School, Ian Smalls - a friend of Josh's - who, despite his name, was not very small, and Tyler and Natalie Hill, two of four siblings that had gone to High School with Will. Nicole and Cody weren't around, and again Will found himself assuming - hoping - that they had been placed elsewhere. Lastly, much to his surprise, Rosa were here, too. Her husband and son had been separated from her, and because of this, she followed Will around like a lost puppy.

Desite the circumstances, Caleb still teased Will about her wanting to "slop his knob." He still had no idea what it meant, and he didn't care enough at this point to ask.

There were quite a few other people here too, some that Will had seen around town before. Having nothing better to do, he decided to get to know them.

There was a girl Will recognized from a coffee shop near his apartment named Sharon and she enjoyed writing poetry. Gary was the clerk of the book store Will often visited, and he was gay. Mimi, was a fitness instructor, and a blackbelt in Jutjitsu. Manny had moved here from Maine two months ago and worked in a deli that Will had been to a couple times. Charlie made puppets and used them to put on shows for children. Frank was the mail man and he hated his job with a burning passion. Charlotte was an elderly woman who had a Grandson in one of the other rooms. Andrew was a local journalist who was anxious to get all the details about what was going on.

Like it or not, these were his new best friends.

It had been four days since everything had gone to shit and they'd been captured and detained. The military was keeping a very close watch on everyone to make sure things didn't get out of hand. A couple people had tried running, or fighting back, but most had been beaten, restrained and hauled off to solitary confinement. The unlucky ones were gunned down.

Everyone got three meals a day; one at eight in the morning, the second at two in the afternoon, and the last at eight in the evening. The meals were never exactly a charbroiled steak with a side of mashed potatoes and a tall Coke, but it was better than nothing. A few people had complained the first day, but after realizing they would get nothing else if they didn't eat, they quickly shut up.

This whole detainment center acted a lot like a prison: they got roughly fifteen minutes to eat their meals, and gave their trays back to the soldiers who came around to collect them. If any untensils were missing, the one who had owned the tray was strip searched infront of everyone and if it still didn't turn up, they were hauled off the solitary confinement until they handed it over or gave away who did have it.

Will was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. It was only the fourth day, and it had already begun to take it's toll on everyone, Will included. He absolutely loathed what was going on, just as everyone did, and the boredom was driving him crazy. Working at a restaurant may have been a crappy job at times between the vegie freaks, the impolite customers and the shit hours, but at least it had been something to do. Personally, Will couldn't imagine anything being quite as bad as this.

Becayse of the lack of distractions, Will's thoughts were on Carly more now than they had been in the past eight months, and it was mostly because of that last phone call she had made. Was she okay? Was she in a detainment center like this? Had she been injured? Who the hell was that Ricky guy she had mentioned? Just like their break-up, Will had a lot of questions, and no answers.

Mimi's voice broke him out of his thoughts: "Hey Will."

"Oh. Hey Mimi." Will gave a half-hearted smile and wave.

"What's up?" The tan skinned black belt took a seat and crossed her muscular legs.

"Just thinking."

"About?"

Will shrugged. "Stuff."

She giggled, cocking an eyebrow. "Just stuff, huh? Not what that serious look on your face said."

Will frowned. "Just stuff."

"Wow. Caleb was right."

It was Will's turn to arch an eyebrow. "Right?"

"Yep."

"About?"

"Funny how our roles got reversed all of a sudden, huh?"

Will's just continued to frown.

Giggling, Mimi said, "He said you're bad at hiding your feelings."

"I-"

"'-am bad at hiding my feelings?'" She cut him off. "Yes. Yes, you are."

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes and turned over.

"It's okay, Will. It's not a bad thing to be an emotional person."

"I'm not emotional."

"Uh-huh..."

"What! I'm not!"

"If you say so, Hun."

"Just..." Will stopped himself, sighing. He didn't know Mimi well enough to snap at her like he had at his brother and friends when they pushed too hard. "I just... I'm fine, okay?"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced back. Mimi's eyes twinkled with concern and she had a genuine smile. "You could always try talking about it."

Will sighed again, shaking his head. There just was no hiding it from this girl so he didn't bother anymore. "I don't want to. It's not that important."

"Alright." Mimi clearly didn't want to give up, but she wouldn't press the subject any further. "If you change your mind, I'm here."

"Thanks, Mimi. Really."

"Of course."

Changing the subject, Will looked around the room. "Where're the others?"

"Playing cards, I think. Wanna join them?"

"No thanks. I don't feel like losing."

Last night, a small part of of the group (mostly males) had decided to play Poker. When the rest of the group and a few other people had joined in, it was decided that they should switch it up to strip Poker. After a couple of hands, Caleb, Manny and Ian had managed to rid a good number of girls of most of their clothes.

Then Gary joined in.

Nobody had expected Gary to be a card shark. In less than an hour, Will, Caleb, Frank, Manny and many other of the male players had been stripped down their boxers. That last hand was extremely embarassing. Privacy was gone, of course, and although for most people dignity had followed soon after, Will preferred to retain his. Last night, however, that had been removed in front of everyone along with his boxers.

Mimi grinned suddenly. "I wouldn't mind that!"

Will felt his cheeks growing warm and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I would."

Suddenly, Mimi broke into a giggling fit. Every time she laughed, Will blushed a bit more until he growned and buried his face under his arms.

_On the bright side, at least she thinks I'm well endowed..._ For some reason, that wasn't a big consolation.

"William Prince?" An deep, unfamiliar voice said.

Quickly, Will sat up and frowned as he laid eyes on the owner of the strange voice. It was one of the soldiers; he had short cut hair and big, broad shoulders. Mimi was frowning too and looked at Will worriedly. The soldier scowled when his question wasn't answered and acted as if it was a huge inconvinience to ask again. "Are you William Prince?"

Slowly, Will nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

"Come with me."

"Why?"

"Don't ask questions, just get off your ass and come with me."

In a flash, Caleb was standing nearby. "Yo, what's up?"

The soldier frowned, glaring at the blond. "This isn't your business. Step back."

"That's my buddy." Caleb challenged and took a step forward. "I think it is my business."

"I told you to back the fuck off." The soldier began to reach for his pistol.

"Caleb." Will got to his feet. "It's fine. Just leave it, okay?"

"But-

Will shook his head. "It's cool. Thanks anyways, man."

Reluctantly, Caleb stepped back. Mimi stood and joined him. Will gave his two friends, and the others, a weak smile and thumbs up, then turned and followed after the soldier who led him out of the gymasium and down the hallway. It took Will only a moment to grasp that they were being led to the rear of the school.

"Where are we going?" He asked. He didn't get an answer.

Soon enough, though, his question was answered non-verbally when they stopped in front of room E08.

"Go inside." The soldier said simply.

Will decided against questioning the man's order and turned the brass handle. The heavy wooden door swung open with little effort and he went inside the room. Inside were two men; Josh Lockhart, and another soldier whom Will didn't recognize. He was a dark haired man with fair skin and a thin goatee.

The unknown soldier glanced up at Will, then back at Josh. "This him?"

Josh nodded.

The unknown man nodded. "Good. Will, come on in. We've got a lot to talk about."

"What's this all about...?"

"Just come in and take a seat." Unknown motioning toward a plastic chair. "We'll explain everything."


	5. How To Start A Riot 101

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the wonky updating cycle. I just got back from vacation and I'm back for about a month, but I'll be going back on vacation in July for an unspecified amount of time, so I don't expect much, if any, updating during the later half of the Summer season. I'll be sure to mark this story as on hiatus during that time.

This is yet another chapter I'm not overly satisfied with: I really enjoy the beginning part, and it's only the end that gets me. I don't think I'll end up rewriting this chapter because it does what I want, and it took too long to write for me to want to do it again, so I'll probably just leave it as it is.

Anyhoo, enough of my babble~ Enjoy Chapter 5!

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><p>Jackson checked his watch.<p>

It was five minutes before eight. There wasn't much time left.

Hurriedly, Jackson helped one of the other soldiers lift a heavy box of food rations up and onto one of the Jeeps.

It was funny, really. When he had first attempted to formulate a plot, Jackson hadn't wanted there to be a riot. Riots weren't pretty; they got out of hand and people got hurt or killed. Unfortunately, after nearly an hour of plotting, he realized such a thing was a necessary evil. So, rather than just have a full blown, out of control riot, he had decided _he_ would be the one to start it and let things play in his favor.

There were roughly three hundred soldiers stationed at this facility. There were three times as many civilians.

If history had any war stories to tell, it always involved underdogs coming out on top. Today, history was going to repeat itself.

Before last night, nobody had the spine or resources to stand up to the soldiers stationed here. People were beaten, locked up and separated from their loved ones, and stripped of any way to defend themselves. Secretly, Jackson and his team had given that all back to them just last night.

As much as Jackson hated to admit it, the men in his company were taking a sick satisfaction from the abuse, too. Everyone except for the ones who were currently helping him load up supplies. Sadly, this behavior didn't surprise him very much. This kind of thing was a rather common occurrence when a group of people were given power and were allowed to abuse said power.

The Standford prison experiment was the most prime example that came to Jackson's mind. The experiment that Jane Elliot performed in her classroom wasn't exactly the same, but very similar. Then there were similar tests like Milgram's experimentation on obedience to authority, the infamous Monster Study...

Now wasn't the time to dwell on these kinds of things though. Jackson and the other eighteen men and women in this room had work to do. If the plan went according to, the riot would start in less than thirty minutes and then all hell would break loose. By then, though, Jackson, these soldiers and everyone who showed up on time would be long gone. That slimy bastard Rhodes could deal with the aftermath.

There was a small twinge of guilt deep inside of Jackson's heart at the thought of abandoning his company. These were his brothers and sisters; they were simply following orders and didn't deserve to be left behind, nor did the civilians. Unfortunately, there was just no time to rally everyone up and snap them out of their power drunk stupors. They had made their choices and now they had to live with them; sacrifices had to be made.

"I just hope I'm making the right ones." Jackson hadn't realized he had said that outloud.

"What was that, Sergeant?" The closest soldier, a Private First Class Xavier Dekker, asked.

"Oh." Jackson frowned. "Nothing, Private." Taking a deep breath, he regained his composure. "Just... keep working. We don't have much time. We have to hurry, there's no time for slacking off."

"Yes, Sir!"

When the soldier went to the small stack of boxes and crates nearby, Jackson sighed. Reaching up to his chest, he tapped the pocket on his vest to make sure the picture was still there.

It was.

_Don't worry, Lucy... I'll be home soon. Please be okay._

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><p>Will had hardly gotten any sleep last night. Despite how tired his body had been, his mind had been far too active. After many failed attempts, he finally stood up and began to pace. The soldiers on guard watched him carefully, as they did everyone who got up in the middle of the night. For nearly an hour, Will walked around the gymnasium, trying to put his mind at ease so he could sleep.<p>

Eventually, the guard's shifts rotated. The next ten soldiers to come into the room Will vaguely recognized from the meeting. When they spotted him, one of them came over, a bag in his hand which he handed over to Will. There were about thirty batons in the bag, all made of metal and collapsible like the ones police used. The soldier instructed Will hand out the batons to the people he believed would be most efficient with them.

After a few moments of thinking, Will did just that; he woke up Caleb, Frank, Ian and Charlie first and handed them batons. He offered Mimi one too, but she declined, claiming that she didn't need a "tiny little stick" to defend herself if things got bad. Jessica was the only other member of the group to accept one. After that, Will selected at random. He woke random people up who looked tough. At first, they had all wanted to beat the crap out of him until he explained what was going on and handed them their batons.

Eventually, Will woke everyone up and informed them of the plan. Key details were left out, such as the fact that Rhodes planned on executing everyone, or that Will, his friends and various other people intended on escaping. Instead, everyone was simply told this: the situation at the facility was not going to be getting better any time soon and that the time had come to over throw the ones currently in charge of this operation. Tomorrow morning, right after breakfast, the plan would begin.

Just as that guy - Sergeant Westbrook, Will reminded himself - had anticipated, people ate it up. Now that they were armed and had a plan - and more importantly, someone on the inside on their side - they were ready to fight back. All of that mistreatment for the past few days was about to be given back to them, with interest. Except for the soldiers who were on their side, of course.

That was all they needed to know. At least, that's what Westbrook had told everyone in the meeting room.

_"We don't have enough time to gather up enough vehicles and supplies for everyone, so I'm asking that you keep this to yourself. You're very well welcome to tell a hand full of your loved ones the plan and have them come along, but please, do not give out the entire plan to everyone. The reason you were all chosen to be brought here was because I was told you were trustworthy. Please, don't turn the men and women who asked for your assistance into liars."_

The thought of leaving everyone else behind made Will's stomach turn. He knew very well that there was no way they could save everyone, but that didn't make things any easier. Will wasn't sure what the situation outside the facility was, Westbrook and Josh and every other soldier had refused to comment on it, but it couldn't be any worse than it was here.

While everyone else went back to sleep, Will stayed awake. He still couldn't calm his eager mind, even after all of that. If anything, it simply made him _more_ restless. Eventually, fatigue won the battle. Around 5AM, Mr. Sandman finally dragged Will into the black void of dreamless sleep.

Now it was eight o'clock. They were almost done passing out breakfast trays.

Still groggy from so little sleep, Will poked and prodded at the pre-cooked, square hash browns, sausage and pancakes that sat in his tray. He wasn't very hungry this morning.

Frank, on the other hand, was busy scarfing down his meal as if would be his last. That was probably the smart thing to do - hell, for all he knew, it just might be just that. Even with that thought, Will couldn't bring himself to eat more than few bites. Apparently, he wasn't the only one.

Rosa was sitting nearby, staring blankly at the food that had been placed in front of her. Unlike Will, Rosa hadn't eaten anything yesterday, or the day before. Sighing, Will reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. Immediately, her head jerked up, eyes wide with alarm. The panic faded when she focused and realized it was just him.

"Will, you scared me." She said.

Will offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry. You were scaring me, though. Why aren't you eating?"

"Oh, um... I'm just not hungry."

"You haven't eaten in two days, Rosa."

"I know, I'm just... I'm just not hungry."

He sighed. "Please. You need to eat. Do you remember what's gonna happen today?"

Rosa nodded. "Yes. Yes, I remember."

"Then eat. Please? For me? You'll need your strength."

"I know..." It was her turn to sigh. "Okay. I'll eat."

"Good." Will smiled as she stayed true to her word.

Although she was clearly reluctant, Rosa picked up her tray and began to eat. Content with this, he scooted away again. Even if he was being hypocritical, Will just couldn't bring himself to eat himself. As if reading his mind, Mimi plopped down next to him. She was wearing a pair of tight fitting work out pants that she had gotten from who-knew-where and a tank top.

"You should take your own advice, ya know." Mimi said immediately.

Will rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. What about you? I didn't see you eat."

"I eat quickly."

"I'll bet."

Mimi reached over and punched him gently in the arm. "Come on, Billy. Eat up!"

Will cringed. "Don't call me that."

She grinned. "What? Billy?" In a childish voice, she teased, "Aw, does wittle Billy have a probwem with me calling him daaat?"

This time he glared. Mimi burst into laughter, causing other people to look over. Flushing, Will tilted his head down and stared at the polished wooden floor.

"Sheesh! So uptight!"

Keeping his voice low, Will said in all seriousness, "Should I not be?"

Sighing, Mimi abandoned her playful tone as well, lowering her own voice to match his. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Will? I mean, really, can this Westbrook guy even be trusted?"

"He gave us weapons, didn't he?" Will retorted.

"Yeah, but what if it's a set-up or something? Like, what if he's only trying to get us to expose ourselves and give the boys in uniform a reason to kill the ones who act?"

"Josh wouldn't do that."

"I'm not talking about your friend, Will. I'm talking about the other guy, the one who told you all of this."

For a moment, Will was silent. Then finally, he simply shrugged. "I trust him."

"Why?"

"He had honest eyes."

"And you have a cute face, but you didn't see me fawning all over you the moment I saw you."

He suddenly felt really embarrassed. Mimi was a couple of years older than him and she was really pretty. _And_ she thought he was cute? For a brief moment, Will examined her face closely, admiring her dark skin and wavy hair. But only for a moment. Suddenly, her face twisted and changed. It was Carly's face now. Those big blue eyes, that pale, beautiful skin and that dark, straight hair, that cute smile, that...

Will felt his stomach knotting up and he looked away quickly. Mimi caught this and frowned. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Will shook his head. "Nothing, Mimi, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." To reassure her, he gave her a fake smile then took a fork full of pancake and shoveled them into his mouth. Mouth full, he said, "See?"

Again, Mimi grinned. "Alright, alright. I'll take your word for it!"

But she didn't. Actions spoke louder than words; Will knew that. She may have said that she took his word for it, but she sat there and watched him while he ate, not budging until the tray was empty. After he swallowed down his last bits of sausage, Mimi smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Good boy!" She giggled.

"I'm not a dog..." Will mumbled.

"I know you're not."

Before Will could reply, Mimi suddenly leaned forward. He felt her lips connect with his. He closed his eyes, face burning, and kissed her back. It was a very short kiss, though. Sooner than he liked, the kiss ended. He opened his eyes and she leaned back, her own cheeks a light shade of red.

"What was that for..?" He asked dumbly.

"In case your trust is misplaced. I just wanted to know what your lips felt like, and if you're wrong..."

Will shook his head and assured her, "I'm not."

Mimi smiled. "Then you'll get another when this is all over."

Once again, Mimi acted before he could; she stood up and walked away quickly. Will thought about calling out to her, but she was walking up to one of the guards on duty, which meant she was probably going to the bathroom. Now that Mimi and his food were gone, he looked over at Frank. Gary, Charlie, Manny, Ian, Jessica and Caleb were over there. Tyler, Natalie, Hailey, Charlotte and Sharon were sitting off in another smaller group, eating the last bits of their tray. Will stood up, tray in hand, and went to where Frank and the others were.

"Ah, Will! Good, I was just about to ask ya to come over!" Frank said with a big grin. "Come'n sit!"

Will smiled and did as Frank instructed. "Why were you gonna ask me to come over here?"

"'Cause! We're discussin' our plan." Frank replied.

"Our really dangerous plan." Manny added.

"Oh, don't be a coward." Frank shot back.

"Are you kidding me, Frank? There's a ton of these guys, and they've got guns."

"So what? Stop bein' a yellow belly! There's ten of us for every one of them."

"And I'm sure they've got a hundred bullets for everyone of us."

"Oh, don't be a baby!" Frank scowled, then lowered his voice and leaned closer. "We got the clubs, that's enough. Do ya think George Washington decided to just quit when he realized how bad things looked at Bunker Hill?"

Charlie chuckled. "George Washington wasn't _at_ Bunker Hill, Frank."

"Yeah, it was William Prescott." Jessica said. She had gotten an A in History.

"Ah, who cares who it was! Fact is, they won that battle even though the odds were against 'em."

"But the colonists lost that fight..."

Frank scowled and shook his fist. "Stop that, dammit! Ya get what I mean!"

There was a brief moment of laughter. Too brief, for Will's tastes. For some reason, there was a dark feeling in the back of his mind that seemed to be spreading. He had a feeling that this may be the last time he'd ever get to sit with his all of his new found friends and laugh like this. He may have only known these people for a couple of days, but he had grown quite close to them.

"Hand over your trays." A gruff voice commanded.

Will turned and looked up. There was a man standing there that couldn't have been two years older than Will himself. He was dressed in the military fatigues and stood behind a rolling cart where he set the trays and untinsels. One by one, they began to hand over their trays, plastic sporks and knives to the soldier. Frank was the last one with his tray and he simply stared up at the man.

"I said hand over your tray." The man sounded annoyed that he had to repeat himself.

"And if I don't wanna?"

"Excuse me?"

Frank stood up, leaving his tray beside him. "I ain't gonna repeat myself."

The man's eyes narrowed. "If you don't hand over your tray, I'll-"

"You'll _what_?" Frank took a step forward. "You gonna get yer little buddies to come over and help beat me up 'cause you're too much of a little piss ant to do it yourself?"

Just as the man opened his mouth to reply, there was a loud crack that tore through the air, followed by several more. The familiar sound of gun shots that must have come from one of the other rooms was more interesting to the soldier, who whirled around. Without hesitation, Frank brought his fist back and smashed it into the man's cheek as he began to turn back around.

The force behind Frank's punch sent the man toppling backwards, knocking over the tray cart. He didn't move when he hit the floor. In an instant, the other soldiers reacted and one began to close in while two others lifted their rifles. The one that was closing in was cut off by one of the random men Will had given a baton too. He was kneeling down and swung at the soldier's left knee. There was a sharp crack as metal collided with bone and the soldier screamed in pain before falling forward. While Will had been watching this, other people tackled the soldier's who had been readying their guns.

The fuse had been lit.

People, with and without batons, jumped up and attacked. There were probably fifty soldiers guarding the room during the day and none of them had a clue on how to react. Some of them managed to get off a couple shots from their rifles, but they were quickly tackled, kicked or punched to the ground. Others attempted to swing their rifles around as makeshift clubs, but that didn't work much better.

Will had seen enough. He got to his feet and called out to the others, "Come on, we have to go now!" And that was all the incentive they needed.

Hurriedly, Will, Caleb, Hailey, Jessica, Ian, Charlotte, Sharon, Frank and all the others made their way toward the double doors that led out into the main hallway. All around them, people were ruthlessly attacking and beating the soldiers that had been abusing them so terribly the past five days. Will felt a small pang of regret for the poor souls, but he quickly pushed it away. He, too, had been manhandled quite roughly.

Caleb had managed to cut in front and slammed into the doors first and flung them open. Everyone spilled out into the hallway, where they surprised a group of six soldiers who had been running left, down the hallway toward the cafeteria. Before any of them could react, Ian and Frank charged and tackled two of them to the ground hard. Caleb attacked next, swinging his baton at the soldier farthest on the left's head.

One of the still standing soldier's raised his rifle, but Charlie was on him in an instant. He grappled with the soldier, struggling to yank the rifle away. The remaining two attempted to help their friend, but Will leaped forward and socked one of them in the jaw.

The man stumbled back, growling. He was larger than Will and built much heavier. Instead of trying to shoot, the soldier stepped forward and swung the butt of his rifle around. Will stepped back, but the tail end caught him in the ribs and sent a sharp spike up the left side of his body. Will groaned and clutched his side; they didn't feel broken, but they sure hurt like hell.

"Hey, asshole!" It was Mimi's voice. Both Will and the soldier turned to see Mimi moving closing in on them.

She was on the soldier's right side at an awkward angle, so he lashed out with his right fist. In less than a second, her hands came up; she caught his fist with left hand and turned her body, slamming the edge of her right hand right where the jaw and neck connected. Pulling back, she spun and lifted the arm he had tried to strike her with, twisting it awkwardly before giving a strong jerk, tugging the dazed soldier off balance.

Then she jumped forward, dropping down and spreading her legs in a scissor position around his; her right leg went behind his, and her left leg went in front. With a twist of her body, the man toppled backwards and landed roughly on his back. Finally, she lifted her left leg then brought it down, dropping it right into the man's throat. He didn't move after that and she rolled back, releasing his arm and was on her feet.

"Holy shit." Will stared, wide-eyed. "That was freaking awesome!"

Mimi smiled. "Thanks, Hun. I'll show you some moves later, but first we've got to get out of here."

For a moment, he had forgotten he was even here. Looking around, Will saw that the other soldier's hadn't fared much better against his friends. They were all on the ground, dead or unconscious, Will couldn't tell which, and frankly, he didn't much care. Caleb, Frank, Charlie and Ian were taking the rifles from their bodies.

"Hey Caleb, gimme your baton." Will said.

"Huh? Why?" Caleb asked, frowning.

"Just give it to me! I need it."

"Um, alright." Caleb pulled the baton out of his pocket and handed it over.

"Thanks. Alright, guys, I need to go back to the cafeteria."

"Are you crazy?" Frank asked. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"Travis might be back there. I need to get him."

"But-"

"No buts!" Will shook his head. "I'm not leaving without him. We don't have time to argue about this. Just go on without me, okay? I'll be fine by myself."

Frank swore, shaking his head. "Ya got balls, Will, I'll give ya that. We'll be waitin'."

Frank took charge, leading everyone to the right, down the hall and toward the back of the school. Everyone except Mimi.

"What're you waiting for?" Will asked.

"I'm not letting you go alone, Will. I saw how you handled that guy," she motioned toward the big guy she'd taken down so easily. "You won't last two seconds without me."

Will flushed. He knew she was right, he wasn't very good at fighting. "Alright, fine. Let's hurry, though."

Only as they walked did it click that something was off. For a moment, Will hesitated, trying to figure it out. Suddenly, he realized it; the gunshots had stopped. Although it had been largely drowned out by all the fighting, when they had went into the hallway, he could clearly hear muffled cracks coming from somewhere close by. It had become a background noise when the fight started and it had even been there when Will had told the others he was going back. But it had stopped.

That sense of dread crept back into Will's mind and he shuddered.

"What's the matter?" Mimi asked with a frown.

"We really need to hurry." Will replied simply and broke into a run.

What they found was worse than either of them could have imagined...


	6. Detainee Departure

**Author's Note:** Two Chapters in one day? What is this witchcraft? Bwahahaha! Hell, maybe we can for a third! (pffft, that'll be the day...)

After playing Xbox for a little while, I got bored and jumped right into this chapter and whipped it up really quickly, so sorry if it seems a little rushed and sloppy. I'm actually _really_ happy with the way this chapter turned out compared to the last one, though, so that's a plus, at least.

Also, I'm well aware that this chapter may feel... "off" compared to the other ones, but I did that on purpose. The story is (mostly) from Will's point of view, and since he's panicking, I imagine that his thoughts must not be very coherent and must be meshing together wildly as things go on around him. Sorry if it's a little weird, I apologize!

Enjoy~

P.S. I apologize for what happens in this Chapter ahead of time! Don't hate me!

* * *

><p>Will couldn't quite wrap his head around the scene that was in front of him.<p>

Whatever had happened here in the cafeteria, it hadn't been good. The backdoor was open, a body lying directly in front of it and blocking it. All around the large room, people, civilian and military, were sprawled out on the floor, pools of blood slowly spreading around them. Many of them had holes in their blood soaked clothing, indicating that they had been shot and all but confirming that the gunfire from earlier had come from here. Additionally, there were foot prints, tracks made from people stepping through the bloody puddles.

An odd situation to stumble into, yes. But the most peculiar thing about it all was that there were people crouching or kneeling over some of the bodies. And that they were _eating_ the dead people.

One man off to Will's left was busy ripping off part of a woman's cheek. Another man dressed in fatigues near the center of the room was hunched over another guy, chewing on his forehead. The smell was bad enough, but when the soldier jerked his head back and tore a large chunk of skin away, Will couldn't take it anymore. He doubled up and threw up.

Bad move.

Will and Mimi had come into the room as quietly as possible. Somehow, they had managed to keep from gasping and gagging at the sight and smells before them until now. All the noise Will made vomiting up his breakfast attracted their attention.

One of the eaters looked up and gave them a vacant stare - there was something oddly familiar about it's eyes. Suddenly, it opened his mouth and let out a disgustingly loud shriek. Immediately, the others looked up, directly at them.

"Will..." He barely registered Mimi's voice.

The one that had screamed stood. It ran at them.

"Will!" Why couldn't he move?

It was halfway there.

"Will! Let's get out of here!"

Too late. It was already within five feet of them. That self-preservation instinct finally kicked in at the last second. Will stepped back and raised the baton. Pain shot through him as he stretched his body out so suddenly, the ribs of his left side screaming at him. He ignored it and swung the baton around with all his might as the eater got close enough. It was a low hit and he struck it in the shoulder.

Mimi grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged, pulling him out of the way just in time. The eater fell and landed awkwardly on it's side. It apparently wasn't going to stay down for long, either. It began to get right back up.

"Will, for Christ's sake, we have to go! Now!" Mimi was pulling on his shirt.

"Yeah." He replied simply. She was right. They had to go.

He turned around and Mimi pushed the doors open. More of them were coming.

Will didn't bother with a second glance. As soon as Mimi ran out into the hallway, he followed her. The footsteps were getting closer; he was surprised he could hear them over the sound of his own heartbeat. He and Mimi sprinted down the hallway toward a set of large wooden doors at the end of the hall which would lead to the main hallway. It was just ten feet away...

He tripped. Of course he tripped!

Before Will could register what was happening, he crashed into the linoleum floor. He began to scramble to his feet, but it was too late. One of the eaters was on top of him. It grabbed his hair and he could feel the finger nails digging into his scalp. It was too late for him. "Run, Mimi!"

But she didn't. Instead, Mimi turned around and lashed out with her left leg. He wasn't sure where she hit. Wherever it was, it was enough to make the eater let go. Will silently thanked her for the second time today and climbed to his feet as fast as possible. They ran again.

Mimi pushed open the doors and ushered Will back through it. In the window's reflection, he could see seven of the eaters behind them. Fuck, they were fast...

The pain in Will's side was intense. He shouldn't be moving so fast; he shouldn't have tripped. Now he wasn't entirely sure if they were broken or not. With each and every step, pain flared from his ribs up to his neck. He ignored it. He kept running.

"Freeze!" The soldier Mimi had knocked out earlier was laying on his back, sidearm aimed directly at them.

The door behind them slammed into the wall as the eaters came through it. They ran right past him.

"Holy shit! No! Help me!" The soldier aimed his gun at the eaters now.

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

The noise echoed off the hallway's walls and stabbed into Will's ear drums. The shots were soon followed by a painful scream. Had he managed to kill one of them? Of course he did, what the hell was Will thinking? It was a fucking gun, of course it killed them.

"Ahhhh!" The soldier let out a terrifying yell of his own. "Get the fuck off me, you motherfuckers!"

Something drew Will to spare a glance back. What he saw made him wished he hadn't; two of them were on top of him. One was tearing into his neck and the other was biting into his arm. The man flailed with his good arm, slapping at the one biting into his neck, but it was no use. He went limp as the eater tore out his artery. Blood sprayed from it like a fountain. Funny. Will had always assumed that stuff like that only happened in cheesy 80's movies.

The others five were still chasing them.

The gun hadn't worked.

Will felt like he had to throw up again. Bile worked it's way up his throat, but he swallowed the sour chunks back down. No time to vomit right now. They had to keep running.

They were running past the commons room now. This is where all the important academic meetings took place. It had been a long time since Will had seen this room. The library was in the next wing - the E-wing. After that, they would be at the rear end of the school where Westbrook and Josh and everyone else was waiting. They were going to make it.

The door to the right flew open. The door that led to the counselor's office. Three men stepped out, each dressed in military uniforms. The man who appeared to be the leader was easily six feet tall. He had black hair which was swept back, a clean shaven face and he held a large, silver revolver in his right hand. His name tag read, "Cpt. Rhodes."

"What the fuck? Steele! Torrez! Kill those fucks!" The Captain barked.

The two soldiers with him raised their rifles. Will and Mimi dropped to the ground just before they fired. It was brief, maybe two or three seconds, then it stopped.

"Who the fuck are you? Tell me what's going on! I bet this is Westbrook's doing, isn't it?"

Will glanced up and saw Rhodes aiming the revolver directly at his face.

"I asked you a goddamn question!" He said between clenched teeth and cocked the hammer back.

"I..."

"Tsk... Torrez, grab 'im. Steele, get the girl."

Both of them had a full beard. Steele was a fat man with a hat and Torrez was a skinny man with thick, curly hair. They yanked Will and Mimi to their feet and Will realized he had lost his baton somewhere along the line.

"Well?" Rhodes asked. "Are you gonna tell me, or not?"

"Why're you doing this?" Mimi asked. Steele was holding her arms behind her back and an arm around her neck, same as Torrez was holding Will.

Rhodes glanced over to her. "I wasn't talking to you. So shut the fuck up, or I'll blow your head off."

"Leave her alone!" Will struggled against his capture.

"Oh, now you speak?" An evil smirk appeared on the Captain's face. "She your little girlfriend, is she? Okay then, we'll play nice." Rhodes nodded, then looked over at his subordinate. "Steele. Throw her down."

Steele did as he was told and pushed Mimi to the ground. Before she could react, Rhodes placed the barrel of his revolver against the back of her skull then looked up at Will. "Are you gonna talk? You've got three seconds. One..."

"Don't." Will pleaded.

"Two."

"Please!"

"Thr-"

"Yes! Yes, it Westbrook's idea! He planned all of this and now they're in the back of the school getting ready to leave! Please, just don't hurt her!" Will exclaimed and squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back tears.

When Will opened his eyes again, Rhodes smiled and nodded his head. "See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?

"But this will be."

He pointed the gun at the back of Mimi's head.

"NO!"

_Bang._

The sound was deafening, even more so than the pistol in the hallway. Mimi's body collapsed and shuddered. Blood oozed out of the hole in the back of her head, soaking into the carpet. Will couldn't take his eyes away.

"Alright, your turn. Torrez. Down."

Will didn't resist when Torrez shoved him onto his hands and knees. He just kept staring at Mimi's body and all the blood. Oh God, the blood...

"Nighty-night, little boy. Thanks for all the info." There was a click as he cocked his revolver.

_Mimi... Shit, I'm so sorry. Fuck. Fuck, why did you come with me? You'd be safe right now if you had just gone with everyone else!_

Will closed his eyes and waited.

_Bang!_

"Arrrggh!"

"Shi-"

_Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!  
><em>

Behind him, Torrez and Steele fell to the ground. One of them was screaming.

"Fucking Christ." It was Westbrook's voice. "Will, get up!"

He didn't move.

Footsteps drew closer, muffled by the carpet. A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him his feet. The pain in his side had become really bad by now, but he barely noticed. His attention was still fixated on Mimi.

"Will... Shit, I'm sorry, man. I wish I'd gotten here sooner, but we have to go. There's no time to spare, the infected are already in the building." Westbrook explained, voice thick with sorrow.

"She's dead." Will replied simply.

"I know. I... I'm sorry, Will, but we can't do anything about it now."

"She's dead."

"Will, if you stay here, her death will mean absolutely nothing! Come on, don't let her death be in vain."

That snapped Will back to his senses. Tears threatened to break open the dams and rolls down his cheeks. Somehow, he managed to fight it off.

_I won't let it be for nothing._

Will let Westbrook lead the way, walking at a fast pace. Before they went through the doors into the next hallway, Will spared one last glance back at his fallen friend. Whichever of Rhodes' lackeys had been screaming had stopped and all three of them were still.

They arrived at the rear of school in less than two minutes. There were about nine cars in total; four Jeeps, two Humvees, two large trucks full of crates and boxes and other supplies and one of those stereotypical trucks with a large bed covered with a tarp. Westbrook led him to the stereotypical truck and helped him up into it. There was close to thirty other people inside, including Caleb, Frank, Ian and all the others - even Travis was here!

Except Mimi.

Will took a seat. Travis sat next to him.

"Hey, man, you okay?" Travis asked.

Will just stared at the floor.

"Will..?"

"She's dead."

"Who? Carly?"

"Mimi."

"Who's-" Travis didn't finish his sentence.

Caleb's voice was what Will heard next. "Hey, Travis, give him some space, man..."

Will was sitting at the tail end of the truck's bed. Everybody else was near the front, all talking and chattering. They were happy; happy to be alive, happy to be reunited with friends and family, happy to be away from that place. But Mimi wasn't.

The engine roared to life and Will felt the car moving. He couldn't help himself anymore. Lowering his face into his hands, he began to cry.

* * *

><p>Joseph Rhodes limped along, using the wall as support, heading toward the cafeteria. From there, he could slip out to one of the Jeeps parked near the side of the building the drive out of here.<p>

_Fucking Westbrook! This is all his fault!_

Blood soaked his shirt. There was a hole in the left side of his torso from where he'd been shot. It hurt like hell, but it didn't stop him; it was just an inconvenience.

_Killed Torrez and Steele, too. Damn you, Westbrook! I swear, I'll kill you if it's the last thing I fucking do!_

His legs felt like lead, making it difficult to walk. Still, Rhodes managed. He wasn't going to die here, not in this shit hole. Fuck everyone here, he didn't give a damn about them. The only two soldiers under his command her gave a damn about were dead about forty feet behind him next to that stupid little whore he'd shot.

Finally, after what felt like eternity, Rhodes reached the large doors that blocked his way to the side hallway. With a great deal of effort, he managed pull the doors open and stumbled inside. Losing his balance, he fell forward and screamed out in pain as he landed on his left side.

"Just gotta lay here for a moment..." Rhodes told himself, gritting his teeth, trying to fight back the pain. "Rest for a second, then get up and get the fuck out of here."

There was a noise. Alarmed, Rhodes looked up. Somebody was walking out of the cafeteria near the end of the hall, just before the exit. They had a military uniform on.

_At least something's going right..._

For a moment, his attention was on the door as he realized that it was secured with a chain and covered with a clear tarp.

"Fuck... need the keys." With a grunt, Rhodes forced himself up into an awkward sitting position. "Hey! You! Come here and help m... what the fuck?"

The soldier turned. Half of his face was missing and his eyes were milky colored, glossy. Rhodes' eyes widened.

"No..."

More of them started coming out. Rhodes whimpered and struggled to get on his feet. "No!"

They were coming toward him.

"No! Stay the fuck away! Get away from me, you sick pieces of shit!"

They ignored him. They just kept coming.

"Nooo! Get away!"

Rhodes tried to move too fast and fell again. White hot fire burned through his body, thousands of hot needles stabbing into his nerve endings. They were so close now. He could hear them making noises. The Captain crawled, desperately trying to get to the doors.

They grabbed at his feet. He kicked and freed himself, but more hands grabbed him this time. Try as he might, he couldn't get away. They began to drag him backwards. He kicked and screamed and swore and flailed. They didn't react. He rolled over and lashed out with his good arm, but it was no use. He watched in horror as their hands tore into his stomach. They began to tear him in half.

Rhodes screamed. There were no words, just pure, unrelenting terror.


	7. Author's Note: Vacation Notice

Welp, apparently I'm going on my vacation much earlier than I had anticipated - my brother is coming out to get me tonight. So, I'll be gone until sometime in July. Sorry folks~

I'll think of all kinds of cool things while I'm gone and when I get back, I'll jump right back in and deliver two chapters!

Anyhoo - I'm off for vacation! See ya in a few weeks!


	8. AN: Return and Possible Reivisions?

I'M BAAAACK~!

Ohgeez, I'm sorry for taking so long. As you can tell, my vacation went on a lot longer than I expected and I'm terribly sorry for my absence.

Anyhoo, I have some news: I know that I promised I'd present two chapters upon my return, but when I was away and I had access to my computer, I read over my current chapters a number of times and I've begun to realize I'm not really satisfied with the end result so-far. The story is taking too long to pick up pace for my tastes, and we probably won't be getting into the meat of the main story for another 4 - 8 chapters, which, for some reason, _really_ bugs me.

During my vacation, I came up with a number of ideas on how to fix this and the one I entertained the most was scarping the current plot and starting from scratch. Overall, the plot won't be too terribly different - the group of civilian survivors will team-up with military, albeit under different circumstances, and probably sooner. However, the setting will change and will be start in California in the town that Will's siblings and mother are in, which means a number of characters will be eliminated, such as Mimi, Frank, Charlie, Reznov, Caleb, etc and will be replaced by other characters. Corporal Lockhart and Sergeant Westbrook will still make appearances, as will Travis. That's all the information I'm willing to divulge at the moment~

However, as an author with fans, I am obligated to ask your opinions on this matter: what do _you_ want? Please, if you want your voice to be heard, either shoot me a PM, or go to my profile and vote on the poll I'll be putting up. Please, please, please, **PLEASE DO NOT EXPRESS YOUR OPINION IN THE REVIEWS!** I'll give the whole thing between one and three weeks, depending on the amount of feedback I receive.

That's all I've got to say for now, and I deeply apologize for putting the brakes on this story again :I

Sincerely,

CheeZFingerSlim


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